“When you have goals and a positive outlook on life, you have something to aim for. Hard work and fun is what life is all about.”
Richard Branson
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Book Quote of the Week – 012
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Tag Archives: life
Alarm Clock Discipline
Everyone wants to know:
“How can I be successful?”
“What do I need to do to be the best at what I do?”
“How do I get an edge to beat our my competition?”
What’s the answer? Well, there’s an entire industry built on telling you the answer. There are so many resources available to answer your questions.
The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People: Powerful Lessons in Personal Change
How Successful People Think: Change Your Thinking, Change Your Life
The list is endless. There are many more I’ve included in my Reading List, check them out HERE. Or check out the 2,275 books that come up in Amazon when you search “How to be successful” HERE.
But it doesn’t matter how much you know or how much you’ve read if you don’t act. There are many things that you need to do and things that need to come together for you to be successful, but I know that one thing you need to be successful is discipline. Today I have been thinking about something I call Alarm Clock Discipline.
The more I read, the more I see thoughts and ideas overlapping with different authors. Recently I’ve had three different resources that have made me think about this topic.
In October I wrote a post about The Slight Edge. In that post I wrote:
Out of all the great things that I have learned from this book, there is one concept that stands out more than the others. “The simple things that lead to success are all easy to do. But they are also just as easy not to do.” This concept is hit on throughout the book. It’s the simple, little habits that you do every day that lead to success. The simple, little habits that are easy to do, but just as easy not to do. This phrase runs through my head every single morning now if I want it to or not. I set my alarm for 5am. When it goes off I have two choices. I can slide out of bed, put on my running shoes and go for my morning run. Or I can hit the snooze button, curl up in bed and fall back asleep. I’ve really done both quite a few times in my life. I’m pretty disciplined so getting up early to run or workout usually isn’t a big deal. But I’m not as disciplined in going to bed at a good hour. So some mornings when the alarm goes off at 5am and I’ve only been in bed for a few hours it’s pretty easy to justify skipping the workout that morning and usually hitting the snooze two or three more times after that. But now each morning when my alarm goes off, before I have the opportunity to realize how tired I am, the words, “Easy to do. Easy not to do.” are running through my head. That’s motivation enough to get me going.
Jeff talks about the “little things” a lot. If I hit the snooze and skip my run it likely isn’t going to kill me or have a drastic impact on my health. But the compound effect is always working. It’s either working for us or against us. So as I get out of bed for my workout those actions are compounding with all the other times I take those positive actions. That one workout might not have much of an impact on my health, but compounding them all together will. Just like when I hit the snooze, that action compounds with all the other times I take those actions and works against me.
Basketball is a big part of life in our family and Alarm Clock Discipline is a big deal when we are getting teenagers up at 5:00am for a workout. As would be expected with kids, some days are easier than others, but over the past five years I’m proud to say that Tia and Daxon have put hundreds of hours into working on their game before most kids their age would even consider being out of bed.
I recently sent them the following video to watch from PGS Basketball: 5 Ways to Build Mental Toughness.
Number one on the list: Wake Up Early & Get Out of Bed
I love in this video when he says that by “hitting snooze you are giving into your feelings. When you give into your feelings you will never be special at anything.”
I don’t care if you do or don’t like the sport of basketball. Take five minutes to watch this video, it’s worth your time.
The most recent resource that got me thinking about this topic again was a book that I just finished by Jacko Willing and Leif Babin. The book is Extreme Ownership: How U.S. Navy SEALS Lead and Win
In the book they say that discipline starts every day when the alarm clock goes off in the morning. The moment the alarm clock goes off is the first test and it sets the tone for the rest of the day. The test is simple. When the alarm clock goes off do you get up out of bed or do you lie there in comfort and fall back asleep.
They go on the explain that if you have the discipline to get out of bed, you win, you pass the test. If you are mentally weak at that moment and you let that weakness keep you in bed, you fail. Though it seems small, whichever decision you make will translate into more significant and substantial elements of your life.
My favorite quote in this book is, “Discipline is the difference between being good and being exceptional.”
How do you become successful? There are many answers to that question. But having Alarm Clock Discipline is a good place to start.
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Books You Should Read
Quote
Over the past couple of weeks I’ve had a number of people asking me for suggested books to read. There are a lot of great books that I’ve read and there area always new great ones being published.
I refer most people to my Reading List if they are looking for a book to read. My Reading List is the list of all the books I’ve read split up into different sections. It also has my top must read and currently reading lists. If you are interested in any of the books on my list just click on the title and it will take you to the Amazon page where you can learn more about the book and order it for yourself.
But there are two books that I have suggested in the past couple weeks that I’ll point out. The first one was one that made me think a little more than normal. The reason was because of the person who asked. It was my 14 year old son who came into my office and asked if I had a book he could read. It made me sit back and think about the books that I’ve read that I would really like my son to learn something from. I’ve had him read books such as The Compound Effect
Another book that I suggested to someone yesterday was Red Notice: A True Story of High Finance, Murder, and One Man’s Fight for Justice
A New York Times bestseller: “[Red Notice] does for investing in Russia and the former Soviet Union what Liar’s Poker did for our understanding of Salomon Brothers, Wall Street, and the mortgage-backed securities business in the 1980s. Browder’s business saga meshes well with the story of corruption and murder in Vladimir Putin’s Russia, making Red Notice an early candidate for any list of the year’s best books” (Fortune).
If you are like me and travel a lot, take advantage of your travel time and listen to your books on audio. For a free trial of Audible and two free audio books, click the link below:
Basketball Season is Underway!
As I’ve always said, this blog is about my life as a father and husband and not only business. So this post is more related to the things I really love, my family and supporting them in what they do.
Our family really enjoys this time of year. The kids are back in full swing of basketball mode and we are doing our best to follow them around to get to all their events. All of my kids are attending American Leadership Academy in Queen Creek, Arizona. Daxon’s season has just got underway (8th grade) and they are 1-1. I’ll have some game tape for him that I’ll share soon.
I have the opportunity to help coach Tia’s team. She’s a junior this year and has started out strong. Her stats can be tracked on MaxPreps HERE
This past weekend we played in the Holiday Hoops women’s Basketball Tournament in Phoenix and Tia was named to the All Tournament All-Star Team. Our first game was probably her best where she had 29 points, she was 7 for 9 from behind the three point line, had 16 rebounds and 8 steals.
It’s going to be a fun year watching both Tia and Daxon, we are really looking forward to it!
NCSA Recruiting Profile: http://recruit-match.ncsasports.org/clientrms/profile/recruiting_profile/3093558
On Fire
A couple of weeks ago I had a friend suggest that I read the book On Fire: The 7 Choices to Ignite a Radically Inspired Life
When John O’Leary was nine years old he was nearly killed in a devastating house fire that he had caused. With burns on 100% of his body he should not have survived. He tells his unimaginable story and the impact others had on him that gave him the desire to fight for his life.
We all have our challenges in life, some are a lot tougher than others. How we face those challenges and the decisions we make will direct the outcome of your life. Some just want to give up and quit rather than face their problem.
Read On Fire. O’Leary helps us to see that we can choose our path and decide the direction of our life regardless of the challenges we face.
Order Your Favorite Books Today! CLICK HERE
Create Your Own Path
A few days ago we were recording and Entrepreneur Next Door podcast with Steve Christensen from Novo Watch. I had asked him a question about his entrepreneurial journey and he made the comment that from a young age he wanted to create his own path.
Whether you are an entrepreneur or are working for someone else, I think that this is something great that everyone should aspire for. Use your skills and talents to create the path that you want to take. Life is way too short to be doing things that you don’t want to be doing. Figure out what it is that you want and create the path to get there.
As an employer, I know that these are the types of employees that I would like to have working with me. Those that know what they want and are working to make it happen. If that means for them to get to where they want to end up my company is only a stepping stone and they will eventually have to move on, I will fully support that. Of course I would never want to lose a great employee. But I’d rather have someone that is great and ends up moving on because of their personal goals and aspirations that did great things with us while we were together than have a life-long employee without any drive that is just showing up each day to punch the clock and get through the day.
What path are you on? Comment below.
Good luck!
Watch for this and other great podcast at www.enextdoor.co
California For Some Family Time
The header of my blog says, The Life of a Father, Husband and Entrepreneur. I use that because my post may jump around a bit. I enjoy writing about the business side of life but the father and husband part of my life are by far the most important to me. That’s why one of my categories is Heggie Life. This is the category that is more focused on family and events than business.
I enjoy the fact that we do a lot together as a family and when one person in our family has an opportunity to do something we can usually find a way to make it a family event. My kids are active and involved in a lot of things. My oldest two, Tia and Daxon, are the most active and I love following them around.
We recently moved from Alberta, Canada to Queen Creek, Arizona for business reasons. My daughter had a basketball coach a few years ago at the Michael Jordan Flight School basketball camp that heard we had moved and he invited her to come to California to play on his basketball team, the Candace Parker GBL Rebels, for the West Coast Fall Exposure Tournament.
It turned out to be a great weekend for the whole family. We were able to spend a day at Corona del Mar, Newport Beach and then two days in the gym watching Tia play basketball.
School basketball will be starting soon for Tia and Daxon. They attend American Leadership Academy in Queen Creek, CAN’T WAIT!
The Slight Edge
I have a lot of books that I love because I’ve learned so much from them. Whether it’s business or just everyday life I’m able to apply things I’ve learned. Many of them I will read multiple times because I want to absorb more of the information. The ones that I really love I have both the physical book and the audio book. As I sit at my desk writing this I can look at my book shelves and pick out so many great books that I could refer to people, but there are a few that stand out to me as their own group. Some that for whatever reason have just meant a little more to me. Books like Think and Grow Rich, How to Win Friends & Influence People
and Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap and Others Don’t. They are the Must Read books that I suggest when people ask what books they should read. A while ago a book fell into my possession by accident. I hadn’t hear of the book before and I wasn’t in a big rush to read it. But when I finished the book I was reading at the time this book was still sitting on the edge of my desk and I decided to read it. Turns out, this book jumped into my Must Read list.
and Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap and Others Don’t. They are the Must Read books that I suggest when people ask what books they should read. A while ago a book fell into my possession by accident. I hadn’t hear of the book before and I wasn’t in a big rush to read it. But when I finished the book I was reading at the time this book was still sitting on the edge of my desk and I decided to read it. Turns out, this book jumped into my Must Read list.The book is The Slight Edge: Turning Simple Disciplines into Massive Success and Happiness
by Jeff Olson. As they state on slightedge.org, “The Slight Edge isn’t just another personal development book. It’s an entirely new way of thinking; a way of processing information that enables you to make the SIMPLE daily choices that will lead you to the success and happiness you desire.”
by Jeff Olson. As they state on slightedge.org, “The Slight Edge isn’t just another personal development book. It’s an entirely new way of thinking; a way of processing information that enables you to make the SIMPLE daily choices that will lead you to the success and happiness you desire.”
In the book, Jeff talks about the ripple-effect, the long-term impact that your everyday decisions and actions have on your life and others. He focuses on seven areas where the slight edge can make a transformational difference — health, happiness, relationships, personal development, finances, career and impact. Many of the things that I’ve learned in this book remind me of things taught by Darren Hardy in The Compound Effect, another book that I love. The Slight Edge is published by SUCCESS, so there is a link between the two.
Out of all the great things that I have learned from this book, there is one concept that stands out more than the others. “The simple things that lead to success are all easy to do. But they are also just as easy not to do.” This concept is hit on throughout the book. It’s the simple, little habits that you do every day that lead to success. The simple, little habits that are easy to do, but just as easy not to do. This phrase runs through my head every single morning now if I want it to or not. I set my alarm for 5am. When it goes off I have two choices. I can slide out of bed, put on my running shoes and go for my morning run. Or I can hit the snooze button, curl up in bed and fall back asleep. I’ve really done both quite a few times in my life. I’m pretty disciplined so getting up early to run or workout usually isn’t a big deal. But I’m not as disciplined in going to bed at a good hour. So some mornings when the alarm goes off at 5am and I’ve only been in bed for a few hours it’s pretty easy to justify skipping the workout that morning and usually hitting the snooze two or three more times after that. But now each morning when my alarm goes off, before I have the opportunity to realize how tired I am, the words, “Easy to do. Easy not to do.” are running through my head. That’s motivation enough to get me going.
Jeff talks about the “little things” a lot. If I hit the snooze and skip my run it likely isn’t going to kill me or have a drastic impact on my health. But the compound effect is always working. It’s either working for us or against us. So as I get out of bed for my workout those actions are compounding with all the other times I take those positive actions. That one workout might not have much of an impact on my health, but compounding them all together will. Just like when I hit the snooze, that action compounds with all the other times I take those actions and works against me.
It’s the simple, daily disciplines, little productive actions repeated consistently over time, that add up to the difference between failure and success.
You have complete control over the direction your life will take. The Slight Edge is a great book to help you get on track to use the power of compounding to catapult your life in the right direction.
Life
Last week I was visiting with the daughter of an elderly lady in the hospital next to her mothers bed. This lady was going to be 93 years old in only a few more hours. That next day she passed away. I am a bishop in our church and had the opportunity to conduct her funeral. The funeral was packed full of family from all over North America showing up. There were obviously some sad tears because she was gone, but the day was really a celebration of her life. She had lived a long, good life with many family and friends who loved her.
In the next few days there is going to be another funeral where the life of another incredible person will be celebrated, but this one is much different. Yesterday I found out that the brother of one of my friends was in an accident and was killed. He’s a young man that had just celebrated is first wedding anniversary. You can read more about this tragic accident at the following link and I encourage anyone who can to make a large or small donation to help his young wife out with the growing expenses she is facing right now.
http://www.goatalliance.org/jeff-ripley-fund/
Tonight I was reading something online that his wife had posted. At such a difficult time in her life she offers some important advice.
“PLEASE hold those dear to you close tonight. Mend relationships that have tarnished, take advantage of every time you talk to them.”
Those are words we should all take to heart. We never know how long we have. We never know when good-bye is our last good-bye. We don’t have time to make things better later, to forgive later. Mend relationships!
20 years, 50 years or 93 years. It doesn’t matter how long you are here on this earth, it’s too short of a time to waste being angry or holding a grudge.
With your loved ones, make sure they know how much you love them. Give them your time. Give them your attention. Give them your love. Hold them close to you.
For yourself, live life with passion. Live each day to it’s fullest. Enjoy each moment that God has given you.
My thoughts and prayers go out to Dakota, the Ripley family and Passey family.
